Camel racing in Dubai: why do you have to add it to your “must see” list?

Do you like exotic stuff? Check camel racing in Dubai where participants are controlled by robots and the winner can get up to $1 million dollars.

Camel racing in Dubai is an important part of local culture. In ancient times such races were held during weddings and other important celebrations. However, at the end of the previous century camel racing was officially recognized as sport. These days came racing combines tribute to ancient tradition, profitable sport and great attraction for tourists.

Competitions are carried out every each in the period from October till April, thus anyone has a chance to participate. In Dubai camel races are carried out on a regular basis, but the most important competitions take place during Al Marmoum tournament. This year main camel races took place during 20 and 21 of January.

Camel races are also carried out at Nadd ash Shiba race track, which is located not far from the city.

Have you ever seen camel racing? No? Then you definitely have to check camel racing in Dubai. There’s no entrance fee and you will get a lot of impressions.

History of races

Many years ago kids were used as camel drivers due to their light weight that allow camels to speed up to 60 km/h. Unfortunately, in the year of 2002 participation of kids in such races were considered as illegal. However, local people managed to solve that problem and decided to use a very light and easy controlled driver robot! These days people install special whipping robots, suspension and GPS-tracking system, which allow controlling camels remotely.

How does camel racing in Dubai look like?

The total number of camels in each race varies from 15 to 70 camels. Camels are running on the oval race track with the length of 10 kilometers. Owners are driving next to their animals, controlling their whipping robots remotely.

Local people are really hot-tempered, they support they favorite animals, shouting impressive slogans. Such races are really exotic for tourists. Some people really like it, making a lot of photos and tracking camels with binoculars, while other consider this sport just boring.

Camel racing in Dubai: why do you have to visit it at least once?

Camel racing in Dubai is not something that can be called cheap sport. Only camels of 8 years old and less can participate in racing, while an average price for camels is around $1 million dollars. However, prizes are really worth it. It can be gold, a car or even $1 million dollars, not to mention respect and honor!

How to participate in camel racing in Dubai?

The easiest way is to check local schedule on Dubaicity website, choosing the best time to participate in a race. One can use a bus or a taxi to reach the racing track.

The majority of hotel offers its guests visiting races as a part of a tour, providing their guests with a private car or a minivan. Good news is that there’s no entrance fee, thus one has to participate in camel races at least once in their life.